This invention relates to foot rests and particularly to portable footrests for use in conjunction with airline seats, the foot rest being collapsible and exclusively of nonrigid parts for stuffing in a bag or purse, adapted to hang on a seat back intermediate its height for use by one seated behind the seat even when the seat back is relcined toward the user.
It is a common desire in seated travelers to rest their feet in a position elevated from the floor. Changing a leg position from time to time during travel changes the stretch of a user hamstring leg muscle and then the lumbar muscles, keeping the lumbar muscles from tightening and countering the common low back ache experienced commonly among travelers. It has also been determined that such changing of positions is enhanced when the legs are not at the same height, thus the need for a plurality of rungs working in concert rather than simply a foot rest adjustable in height.
It is also desirous that a foot rest be light-weight and fully flexible so that it can easily be stuffed into a travel bag or purse suitable as a carry-on item on an airplane without damaging any foot rest elements through bending.
It is known to have various foot support straps attached to and hanging from the top of a seat-back. However, this is at least bothersome and generally unusable in the instance of an airline seat or other such seat that reclines toward the foot support user. In such configuration, the seat back top extends rearwardly significantly over leg space of the next-rearward seat. Thus, any support device hanging from the reclined seat back top falls onto the lap of the user seated behind the seat back making the support unusable.
Thus, an object of the invention is to provide a collapsible multiple-rung foot rest fabricated exclusively of flexible cords suitable for stuffing in a purse or carry-on bag. A further objective is to mount the foot rest intermediate the height of a seat back such that the foot rest hangs close to a seat back base, forward in the leg space of the next rearward seat occupant even when the seatback is reclined. It is a still further objective that no element of the foot rest or its attachment to a seat back extends to or over the seat top so that a person seated in the seat is unaware of the foot rest and cannot be distrubed by elements of the foot rest attaching to the seat top. It is another objective that the foot rest be adapted to support a user's leg extending through the foot rest over a rung. Yet another objective is that the foot rest swing freely from the seat back even under the seat back and the seat attached thereto to allow the user's foot to fully extend under the seat while still being supported by the foot rest and to exercise in the foot rest by swinging the foot rest thereby encouraging improved blood circulation in the user's legs and feet. It is a final objective that the foot rest be adaptable to support both user's feet on a single support level or optionally to stagger support height between the user's feet without foot rest adjustment by simply placing a foot on another selective support rung.